1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to exercise devices and more particularly to a device for performing push-ups according to standardized requirements.
2. Background of the Invention
It is well known that exercise is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy body and confronting the effects of aging. Many educators and physical fitness professionals believe that a life-long commitment to physical fitness is best promoted by encouraging participation at an early age. One manifestation of this belief is the presence of physical education programs in the vast majority of schools within the United States and elsewhere.
In response to a concern that American children scored lower than their European counterparts on a battery of physical fitness tests, the President""s Council on Youth Fitness was founded on Jul. 16, 1956 to encourage American children to lead healthy, active and physically fit lives. The council has evolved over the years and is presently known as the President""s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS).
One aspect of the PCPFS""s mission is the administration of the xe2x80x9cPresident""s Challengexe2x80x9d program. During the 2000-2001 school year, more than 30,000 schools took part in this program and more than 4 million children participated. One program component of the overall President""s Challenge program is the xe2x80x9cPhysical Fitnessxe2x80x9d component. This program calls for children to participate in a battery of physical fitness tests that include tests such as those known as xe2x80x9cCurl-upsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cShuttle runxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cEndurance runxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cV-sit Reachxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cPull-upsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cSit and Reachxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cRight Angle Push-Upsxe2x80x9d.
Students may elect among alternative exercises in some cases but they must meet the minimum requirements in order to receive an award. Awards vary based upon qualifying standards. For example, in order to receive the xe2x80x9cPresidential Physical Fitness Awardxe2x80x9d boys and girls must score above the 85th percentile on five tests. The xe2x80x9cNational Physical Fitness Awardxe2x80x9d is given to those that score above the 50th percentile on these five tests. States and various organizations may also offer other awards based upon specific qualifying criteria. For example, Virginia offers the xe2x80x9cVirginia Wellness Awardxe2x80x9d to students in Virginia schools that meet specified criteria that do not rise to the level of the xe2x80x9cPresidential Physical Fitness Awardxe2x80x9d or the xe2x80x9cNational Physical Fitness Awardxe2x80x9d.
While the tests are relatively easy to administer to the children, unfortunately, some level of subjectivity exists in connection with the performance of the tests. As a result, children sometimes tend to either intentionally or unintentionally exploit this subjectivity in order to achieve performance levels that they might not be able to obtain if the exercises were down according to proper standards and form. For example, in the case of right angle push-ups, the proper form (and the most difficult way to perform the exercise) occurs when the student""s lower arms are at a substantially right angle with their shoulders during the range of motion. The proper exercise motion also requires students to start by lying face down on a mat or on the floor in push-up position with hands under shoulders, fingers straight, and legs straight, parallel, and slightly apart, and with the toes supporting the feet. The student should then straighten his or her arms while keeping his or her back and knees straight, and then the student should lower the body until there is a 90-degree angle at the elbows, with the upper arms parallel to the floor. The student should go down at least until there is a 90 degree bend at the elbows and then back up.
Various ways of doing the exercise such that they deviate from proper form can make the exercise both easier to do and less effective as an indicator of upper body strength. For example, students may seek to count as a full push up, a motion that is significantly less than the desirable range of motion described above. Alternatively, students may perform the complete range of motion but only with one side of their body (i.e. only one shoulder goes down to the required bottom of motion rather, than both).
In addition to the above described physical fitness testing that occurs in schools in connection with the Presidential Physical Fitness program and otherwise, various other contexts call for physical fitness testing and in particular physical fitness testing wherein subjective exercises can be more easily controlled to ensure that exercises are being performed according to a defined form and procedure. For example, military training situations such as boot camp and ongoing physical training exercises and evaluation call for at least some level of objective measurement and evaluation.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a device which allows a user or an observer to engage in, or observe, respectively, a controlled motion push-up exercise meeting specific range of motion criteria.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable and user-friendly device which provides direct feedback on range of motion during a push-up exercise.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a push-up device which provides feedback to an exerciser with respect to push-ups meeting the specific range of motion criteria.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a device which is easily customizable for use by exercisers with a variety of body configurations including different arm sizes, different shoulder widths and different heights.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device that guides an exerciser toward a push-up range of motion through which the exerciser can gain maximum benefit in terms of exercise results.
These and other objects of the present invention are obtained through the use of a push-up device which is configurable by user body characteristics and by predetermined conditions for range of motion so as to guide an exerciser to perform a push-up which meets such predetermined range of motion and exercise form criteria. Through the use of the device of the present invention, exercisers are able to perform push-ups that meet predetermined range of motion criteria regardless of their body characteristics and receive feedback based upon whether the exercise was properly performed or not.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the push-up exercise device described herein consists of three primary components. The first component of the push-up exercise device of the present invention is a push-up Guide Box. The Guide Box is placed on the floor or on a mat and the exerciser performs push-ups above two guide legs extending from the Guide Box component of the device. The Guide Box also preferably contains an audible feedback means such as a bell which rings when a push-up with the correct range of motion is performed. A buzzer or other sound making device may also be used as may a digital counter which registers the number of push-ups. A second component of the device comprises an arm length/shoulder width sizing unit (Sizing Unit). The Sizing Unit is employed to configure the Guide Box according to specific user body characteristics so that the proper range of motion for the push-up exercise is obtained. The final component of the push-up exercise device is a set of Arm Length Extenders which are selected based upon measurements obtained from the Sizing Unit for a particular individual""s body characteristics. Based upon measurements obtained from t Sizing Unit, a pair of Arm Length Extenders are selected and placed in the appropriate location in the Guide Box Legs in preparation for the push-up exercise.
As will be described in greater detail below, the device comprising the present invention offers a number of advantages and may be employed in a variety of contexts. For example, the device may be configured so that those performing push-ups using the device of the present invention are necessarily meeting the required format and range of motion required to obtain awards such as the President""s Challenge Physical Fitness award. Alternatively, the device may be employed in applications where it is necessary or desirable to ensure that those doing push-ups are using a form and range of motion that meets pre-defined standards such as in connection with physical fitness evaluations conducted in the military context. The device of the present invention further provides the ability to guide exercisers toward push-ups that are the most beneficial in terms of training results regardless of whether testing or evaluation is being performed or not.
These and other advantages and features of the present invention are described herein with specificity so as to make the present invention understandable to one of ordinary skill in the art.